ONE glance at Liverpool FC’s bench in recent seasons has helped to explain the club’s Premier League malaise.

For a very different reason, Kenny Dalglish’s substitutes may also have accounted for their 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

While in previous campaigns it has creaked under the weight of the useless carcasses of David N’Gog, Andriy Voronin, Milan Jovanovic and Christian Poulsen, Liverpool’s bench at White Hart Lane was brimming with quality.

As the likes of Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson toiled against a Spurs side inspired by the impressive Scott Parker, Dirk Kuyt, Craig Bellamy, Maxi Rodriguez and Jay Spearing were left kicking their heels alongside Dalglish.

Any one of those replacements would have improved Liverpool.

Indeed the side which beat Brighton 2-1 in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night looked far more capable of challenging Harry Redknapp’s men for fourth than the XI who began the reverse in London.

That’s not to decry the quality of players recruited by Dalglish and Damien Comolli, of course.

The Scot and Frenchman have spent the £100m given to them by owners Fenway Sports Group well.

Yet while Carroll, Adam and Henderson all possess great potential, on current form you wouldn’t pick them.

That’s the dilemma facing Dalglish.

All three players have been bought with one eye on the future, but Liverpool are suffering in the present while they adapt.

Alongside the very pressing need to show the money men you’ve invested wisely – even with owners as understanding and supportive as John Henry and FSG – the new boys all need games.

But Dalglish will be aware that he has players in his squad who could offer the team more, at least in the short term.

Certainly the Reds have lost some of the magic of last season’s revival under Dalglish because of the reduced involvement of the likes of Maxi, Kuyt and Spearing, who have made way for the new recruits.

Sunday’s 4-0 loss, while embarrassing, can be dismissed as a minor setback in Liverpool’s progress, one of those freak results that even the greatest of sides suffer from time to time.

However, the form of Dalglish’s £35m forward is more worrying.

Anyone who saw the 6ft 3in striker at his monstrous best for Newcastle United last term will know what a fully-firing Carroll would offer Liverpool. On his day, he is unplayable.

Reds fans, though, have only been treated to a glimpse of that player, in the 3-0 victory over Manchester City at Anfield in April.

After an injury-enforced spell on the sidelines, it’s understandable that Carroll has struggled to instantly recapture his finest form – players of his height and build often take longer to find their stride.

He also appears to be short of confidence, something not helped by Fabio Capello’s comments about his perceived lifestyle.

What is of more concern is how his presence has affected the team and his fruitless pairing with Suarez.

The Uruguay international quickly forged a lethal partnership with Kuyt, the two linking brilliantly in Liverpool’s best performances of this campaign and the last.

He has displayed a similar understanding with Maxi and Bellamy – players, like Kuyt, with great movement – yet Suarez and Carroll still play like strangers when paired together.

The £22m January signing from Ajax has often cut a frustrated figure in the company of the Geordie, something which can’t entirely be explained away by Liverpool’s lapse into a long-ball approach when the giant forward plays.

One man with whom Carroll should enjoy a better on-field relationship with is Steven Gerrard.

Anyone associated with Liverpool will have been delighted to see the midfielder back in action on Wednesday, but Carroll, in particular, should rejoice.

If the captain can replicate the partnership he enjoyed with another Anfield targetman, Peter Crouch, he could play a vital role in the former Newcastle player’s integration into the team.

Gerrard’s return is particularly timely with fixtures against Everton and Manchester United looming next month and it is likely that one of Adam or Henderson will make way.

Ex-Sunderland man Henderson, like Carroll, needs time to grow into Liverpool’s team and there have been encouraging signs of progress, most notably against Bolton, but Gerrard, Kuyt, Maxi and Bellamy would offer more in the meantime on the flank.

Adam has settled quicker than the £16m England U21 international since his arrival from Blackpool and will relish the prospect of picking out Gerrard’s surging runs.

But the Scot was badly exposed against Tottenham, his lack of pace and defensive guile playing a part in his sending off.

When Liverpool are in control of a game, Adam’s vision and range of passing are invaluable.

However, against more dynamic midfields like Tottenham’s and United’s, or in the hustle and bustle of a Merseyside derby, Spearing would be the better option alongside Lucas Leiva.

At least Dalglish has options. Liverpool may still be searching for the right recipe but Dalglish has all the necessary ingredients at his disposal.